Lady&#39;s undergarment



Mwchfi4,19%. z A E HENS 2,344,374

LADY S UNDERGARMENT Filed March 29, 1943 Fla] 2 //VVENTOE ZOMA 14.6TEPHEN5 ATTOKNE Y5 Patented Mar. 14, 1944 LADYS UNDERGARMENT Zoma A. Stephens, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to Munsingwear, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Application March 29, 1943, Serial No. 480,962

5 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful immovements in ladies undergarments and more particularly to such garments of the pantie-girdle t p In the manufacture of garments of this general 6 waistline in outwardly and upwardly sweeping type, it has been quite common practice to procurves, and a panel of one-way stretch material vide one or more elastic sections in the body of being interposed between said curved sections the garment to render the garment form fitting, and stretchable in a vertical direction only, thereand to allow for expansion of the figure as a by to allow the central back portion. of the garresult of stooping or sitting positions, and also 10 ment to readily elongate as a result'of stooping whereby the garment will have ample strength or sitting positions, and said curved sections functo provide the necessary constricting and molding tioning to permit the garment to yield in all diaction to the body of the wearer. Such garments rections over the posterior region on the wearer, have proven more or less practical, but have not as a result of expansion of the body across the always provided the utmost in comfort. A garl5 buttock, when the wearer is in a stooping or sitment of the pantie-girdle typeshould be so deting position. signed that the garment is always comfortable v A further object of the invention is to provide upon the wearer, regardless of the various posia garment of the class disclosed having its back tigns may be asszimed Ithe figure 81.7111? composed of a verticaclily diisposed dstretchable; w ere y e upper por ion 0 e rear 3 c pane aving convex si e e ges, an a pa r o garment is not likely 150 p ll or creep downw r ly narrow, elongated curved sections being secured at the vlzrfist intg. heat; the wearer stoallilps 0 tsifi to said convex edges and adapted to overlie the D 8 am O m e cr 6 buttock of the figure, and said curved sections and as the buttock is somewhat spherical in having their outwardly convex edges suitably shape and may e a d considerably, when the stitched or secured to rear side sections, and Ear. to

' sides an secure 0 said rear side sec ons at constructed as to allow for such errpansion of the t id s of th garment, the front of the ga figure Wlthout exertlng Strams In any p ment and said rear side sections being composed tions of the garment or m the seams thereof, of a special knitted fabric which has little or no and o s e that e ent 111 always be horizontal, or circumferential stretch, but has a form fittmg in all posltlons Of t figure, and certain amount of up and down or vertical stretch, wil Il retain its prrl liler gofisiiticirt thereon. h t thereby to give suificient elasticity to said front 0 overcom? e 1 165 now m Bren m and rear side sections whereby they may stretch garments P thls genera} type I have dlscovered vertically to allolil for elongation of said curved from considerable experimental work, that by enimembers, as a result of steeping or sitting and g i hf t destigned z elastic whereby the fabric and seams of the -back of the sec ons m p05 enor por Ion of garmen garment will not be subjected to severe pulling one at each side of the central port1on thereof, strains which sections are made of two-way stretch elas- 40 Othe'r objects of the invention reside in the tic material, whereby they are stretchable in all simple construction of the garment whereby it directions agartnent may h P in sltch may be manufactured in quantity production a manner that it will readily yield to expansion at low cost; in the construction of a pantie of the figure across the buttock, as a result of irdle which is so constructed as to emit stooping or sitting positions, without exerting 5 g p quate fiexibihty to expansion and contraction undue strains on the seams, and without causing f th fi r d1 m the garment to draw or pull down at the waisto e u raga vanous p05 E line. Also because of the unique shape of said assumed thfnjebyi and whereby such flexibmty curved elastic sections and their particular locaand Yleldablhty the sfiat of the tions in the garment, the garment will always rement may be l Wlth mlmmum f tain its form-fitting characteristics, and will be Way Stretch e t e use Of which is now comfortable on the wearer, regardless of body more or less restricted because of the defense movements. program.

It is therefore an important feature of the Other objects of the invention will appear present invention to provide a garment of the from the following descrip ion nd he co class described having a pair of narrow, elongated curved sections of two-way stretch elastic fabric embodied in the rear portion thereof, and extending from the crotch to substantially the panying drawing and will be pointed out in the annexed claims. 1

In the accompanying drawing there has been disclosed a structure designed to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the exact features shown, as various changes may be made within the scope of the claims which follow.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a rear view of the garment;

Figure 2 is a front view thereof;

Figure 3 is a rear view of the garment show- .ing it on a figure; and

Figure 4 is a view showing the garment -on a figure which is in a stooping or sitting position. a

The novel garment herein disclosed is shown comprising a rear central panel 2 of a suitable elastic fabric,stetchable in a vertical direction,

as indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, but having substantially nohorizdntal stretch, The panel 2 extends from the waist to the crotch, and its side edges 3 are convex, as clearly illustrated in Figure 1. The lower end or tip 4 of the back panel 2vis shown secured by a row-of stitches 5 to a crotch" piece, generally designated by the numeral 6.. The crotch piece, as herein shown, is

composed of two sections 1 united along the median plane of the garment by a row ofv stitches '8. The fabric from which the crotch piece is, made is stretchable'in a horizontal direction as indicated by the arrows 9 in Figure 2, but has little or no stretch in a vertical direction.-

An important feature 'of this present invention' resides in the means provided in the gar-Z ment for permittingthefrear portion thereof which overlies the buttock to readily yield to.

the expansion of this portion of the body in all directions, with a minimum of elastic fabric, when the body is in a stopping or sitting position. When a body is in a stooping or sitting position, it may expand considerably across the buttock, particularly so when thefigure is in a sitting position and the weight of the body is imposed thereon.

Heretofore it has been common practice by ment, and whereby the garment will have the necessary constricting and molding action on the body without any tendency of pulling down at the waistline or pulling up in the crotch.

To accurately determine the 'most advantageous locations for the two-way stretch elastic sections I0, an elastic garment having its entire rear portion suitably marked off in one inch squares, was placed on a live figure or model, and the rear of the'garment was then carefully observed, as the figure went thru various body movements such as stooping, sitting, and other movements which might place a strain in the fabric in the posterior region of the garment. After carefully observing the garment during various bending movements thereoiythe areas showing the greatest stretch in the fabric were carefully marked off while the fabric was under tension, and the direction of stretch of the fabric was also noted. The noted areas were found to be in the shape of narrow elongated curved areas overlying the side portions of the buttock at each side of the rear central portion of the garment. The stretch in the fabric in the above mentioned curved area was found to be in various directions, as indicated bythe arrows in Figure 4. A garment was then constructed ,as hereindisclosed, em-

' bodying two elongated, .narrow curved sections In, which were-located at opposite sides of the rear panel 2 as shown in Figure 1. The-curved sections I0 were constructed of two-way stretch elastic fabric, such as Powernetj which sections were found to provide ample stretch'in the rear of the garment to allow for all body movements without imposing excessive strains in any portions of: the fabric in the rear of the garment. Itwas also found that by thus constructing the garment, the rear upper edge of the garmentwould not pull or drawn down at the waistline, nor would the garment tend to pull a up in the crotch, thus resulting in a formmany garment manufacturers to construct all, Y

or the major portion of the rear of garments such as pantie-girdles, of two-way stretch elastic fabric to allow ample stretch in the fabric to accommodate expansion of the body without imposing excessive strains in any portions of the fabric. Such construction requires a considerable amount of two-way stretch elastic I a fabric which is now diflicult to obtain because of the defense program.

The'novel garment design herein disclosed has made it possible to'construct garments of this general type with considerably less elastic fabric, and yet provide all of the desired qualities of a garment whose entire rear portion may be constructed of a two-way stretch elastic fabric. This is readily accomplished by. embodyingv in the rear of the garment two oppositely disposed curved elongated sections ll) of twofitting garment having the desired constricting and molding action on the figure and, at the same time, providing the utmost in comfort.

The narrow elongated curved sections l0, it will be noted by reference to the drawing, are located at opposite sides of the rear central panel 2; and each has itsadjacent concave edge stitched or suitably secured to the adjacent convex edge 3 of thepanel 2. The sections III, as clearly' shown in Figures 1,3 and 4, extend upwardly and outwardly in long sweeping curves from the crotch seam 5 to the top of the garment, and

gradually increase in width in an upward direc tion to allow ample stretch in the garment over the buttock.

The sections III, as hereinbefore stated, arepreferably made of a suitable two-way stretch fabric, such as Power net, which has considerable elasticity in two directions, whereby it may alsoreadily stretch or yield in all directions.

.To complete the rear portion of the garment,

. rear side sections-ll, each'having an inwardly way stretchelastic fabric, such as is-commonly 1 of the figure where the greatest expansion may to the trade as Power net." provided take place, whereby ample stretch is provided in the garment to allow for all stooping, bends ing, or other body movements without imposing severe strain'sin any portipn of the garfacing curved edge. i2,-a're secured to the outer convex edges of the curved sections II) by suitable means I3, as shown in the drawing. In the type of garment herein disclosed, the rear side sections II are provided with deg-forming portions l4 having elastic garter supporting inserts l5 embodied in their lower edges for supporting suitablegarters or hose supporters l5. The inner-edges of the leg portions ll are secured to the crotch piece I by'the seam 5', as best shown in Figure 1.

' l9, shown in Figures 1 and 2. An opening 2| is provided in one side of the garment whereby the garment may be partially opened up to facilitate slipping it on or oil the figure. The opening 2| may be closed with a zipper, hooks and eyes, or other fastening means suitable for the purpose. Elastic garter inserts 22 are preferably provided in the front side sections IE to support the front garters 23. The inner-edges of the front side sections it are secured to the crotch piece l by a row of stitches 24, which extends upwardly from the lower edges of the leg openings of the garment to the front portion of the crotch piece I, where it also secures the lower reduced end portion 25 of the front panel 20 to the crotch piece i. The inner edges of the lower portions of the rear side sections II are secured or suitably stitched to the adjacent edges of the crotch piece I by the seam 5.

The front panel 20 and rear and front side sections Ill and I6, respectively, are made from a special knit fabric which has no material horizontal stretch, but has reasonable up and down stretch to give ample flexibility to the front and leg portions. A suitable reinforcing panel 26 is preferably secured to the upper inner side of the front panel 20 to support the abdomen.

An important feature of this invention, as hereinbefore stated, resides in the provision of the outwardly curved elastic sections In in the rear of thegarmen't, which are so shaped and located that they provide ample stretch in the rear of the garment in all directions, regardless of the various positions which may be assumed by the figure. By the embodiment of these curved sections in the rear of the garment, a garment may be constructed having ample stretchability in all directions with less elastic fabric than has heretofore been possible, and with the assurance that the garment will not creep or pull down from the waistline, and that the garment will always snugly fit the figure and provide the desired contracting and molding action.

While I have herein shown the invention embodied in a pantie-girdle garment comprising rather pronounced leg portions, it is to be understood it may be embodied in other types ofgarments, where applicable, without departing from the scope of the invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal objects of my invention, and it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described may be variously changed and modified, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not here-' in specifically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodimentsare illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim:

1. A garment of the class described comprising a body provided with a rear central panel of one-way stretch material, stretchable in a vertical direction, a pair of narrow, elongated sections of two-way stretch elastic fabric secured to the opposed side edges of said rear central panel and extending downwardly from the waistline and arranged to overlie the buttocks, a front section, and rear side forming sections secured to the front section at the sides of the garment and having their rear edges secured to the outer edges of said narrow, elongated two-way stretch sections, said narrow, elongated sections being capable of stretching in all directions, thereby to permit the seat portion of the garment to readily yield to expansion of the figure across the buttocks, when the wearer is in a stooping or sitting position.

, 2. A garment of the class described comprising a body provided with a rear central panel having outwardly curved side edges extending downwardly from the waistline and terminating at the crotch, said panel being composed of oneway stretch material, stretchable in a vertical direction, a pair of narrow, elongated sections of two-way stretch elastic fabric secured to the outwardly curved side edges of said rear central panel and extending substantially from the waistline to the crotch and arranged to overlie the buttocks, a front section, and rear side forming sections secured to the front section at the sides of the garment and having their rear edges secured to the outer edges of said narrow, elongated two-way stretch sections, saidnarrow, elongated sections being so shaped and located in the garment as to provide adequate stretch in all directions in those portions of the garment which overlie the buttocks, thereby to permit the seat portion of the garment to readily yield to expansion of the figure across the buttocks, when the wearer is in a stooping or sitting position.

3. A garment of the class described comprising a body provided with a rear central panel having convex side edges curving inwardly from the waistline to the crotch, said panel being composed of one-way stretch material, stretchable in a vertical direction, a pair of narrow, elongated, curved sections of two-way stretch elastic fabric secured to the opposed side edges of said rear central panel and extending substantially from the waistline to the crotch and arranged to overlie the buttocks, said ,elongated sections being of substantially uniform width their entirelength, a front section, and rear side forming sections secured to the front section at the sides of the garment and having rear concave edges secured to the outer convex edges of said narrow, elongated, curved sections, said curved sections being capable of stretching in all directions thereby to permit the seat portion of the garment to readily yield to expansion of the figure across the buttocks, when the wearer is in a stooping or sitting position.

4. A garment of the class described comprising a body provided with a rear central panel of one-way stretch material, stretchable in a ver-. tical direction only, said panel extending from the waistline to the crotch and having its opposed side edges outwardly curved, a'pair of narrow, elongated, curved sections composed of two-way stretch elastic fabric arranged at each side of aid rear panel and each having a concave edge secured to the adjacent outwardly curved edge of the rear panel, a front section having limited vertical stretch and provided at its bottom with leg-forming portions, rear side forming sections having inwardly facing curved edges secured to the outer curved edges of said narrow two-way stretch sections and having leg-forming portions, the opposite edges of said rear sidefonning sections being stitched to the front sections along the sides 01 the garment, said narrow, elongated, two-way stretch sections extending from the waistline to the crotch and arranged to overlie the buttocks of the wearer and providing ample stretch in the rear of the garment in all directions, whereby the garment may readily expand across the buttocks, when the wearer crotch piece, said crotch piece comprising legforming portions, a pair of narrow, elongated,

- curved sections composed of two-way stretch elastic fabric, said narrow, elongated, two-way stretch sections having their inner concave edges secured to'the outwardly curved edges of the rear panel and extending from the waistline to the crotch and having their lower terminals secured to the crotch piece, aid narrow, two-way stretch sections substantially uniform in width from the waistline to the crotch, rear side sections stitched to the outer curved edges of said elongated, twoway stretch sections and having leg-forming portions secured to the crotch piece, and front side sections secured to the front panel and to the rear side sections along the sides of the garment, said front sections having leg-forming portions secured to the crotch piece and said rear side sections to complete the formation of E0 the leg portions of the body of the garment.

ZOMA A. STEPHENS. 

